‘Mindless idiots’ force closure of Cwmbran nightclub, Delilah's says owner Iftekhar Haris

Owner Iftekhar Haris said he had to employ extra doorstaff at the venue on Glyndwr Road, had to prop up the business financially for two years himself and could not transform it into the live music venue he hoped for because of tight licensing restrictions.

As a result Mr Haris confirmed that this weekend will be the venue’s last.

“There was not enough trade,we had to work towards a last entry time of midnight which was tough when you’ve got a pub over the road able to close at 1am. We were totally plastic, so even bottles of wine had to be decanted. While we did that for safety, it made it a different experience. And the business rates were very high.”

But by far the biggest disappointment was what he termed “some groups of mindless idiots who once again have had the last say.”

Mr Haris said they have five to seven door staff for the 240- capacity venue when the licence terms state he only needs one per 100 customers.

He added: “Over two years, we’ve banned more than 100 people, we have banned nowhere near that many from any of our venues in Newport.

“Everyone knows everyone and everyone knows everyone else’s business, and when they meet up they like to argue about it. I’ve kept it open for two years making a loss. It’s a difficult place. We did our best.”

He also said he would have preferred the Cwmbran club to have been a live music venue but said without being able to attract younger people that wasn’t possible. He would have liked to have been allowed to have special nights when under 18s were allowed on the premises after 10pm.

Mr Haris was keen to stress his thanks to many loyal and decent customers and his staff for their hard work.

A spokeswoman for Torfaen council said: “The conditions that were imposed on the licence was agreed by Mr Haris and the police.”

● Delilah’s will host a farewell party tonight and tomorrow with all their DJs there to say goodbye.